Music: An Appreciation 9th-10th Edition by Roger Kamien Part II The Middle Ages

Time-Line Middle Ages (450-1450) Rome sacked by Vandals—455 Beowolf—c. 700 First Crusade—1066 Black Death—1347-52 Joan of Arc executed by English—1431

The Middle Ages A thousand years of European history Early - A time of migrations, diseases & wars Black Death (1350) Late - A period of cultural growth - Churches & monasteries; universities; - Crusades to recover the Holy City from the Muslims 3 Main Social Classes Nobility sheltered in fortified castles; knights in armor; amused themselves with hunting, feasting & tournaments Peasants vast majority of population; lived miserably; subject to feudal overlords Clergy Roman Catholic church exerted power; monks held a virtual monopoly on learning

Ch. 1: Music in the Middle Ages Church dominates musical activity Ch. 1: Music in the Middle Ages Most musicians were priests Women were not allowed to sing in church Only sacred music was notated Music primarily vocal and sacred Instruments not used in church (organs and bells added after 1000) Music manuscripts did not indicate tempo, dynamics or rhythm

Ch. 2: Gregorian Chant Was official music of Roman Catholic Church Monophonic melody set to Latin text and sung without accompaniment. Improvisational. Melodies tend to move by steps in a narrow range Flexible rhythm without meter and beat Named after Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604) Originally no music notation system Notation developed over several centuries

Ch. 2: Gregorian Chant (contin.) The Church Modes Different half and whole steps than modern scales Derived from Greek modes which are named after Greek cities: Phrygian Dorian Lydian Myxolydian And more…

Listening Alleluia: Vidimus stellam (We Have Seen His Star) Early Gregorian Chant Monophonic texture Ternary form: A B A

Listening O successores (You successors) Chant Hildegard of Bingen Originally written without accompaniment This recording includes a drone—long, sustained notes Note extended range of melody Written for nuns by a nun (to be sung in convent)

Ch. 3: Secular Music in the Middle Ages (music outside the church) French Nobles who were poet-musicians: Troubadours (southern France) and Trouveres (northern France) They wrote poems/songs for court use Performed by jongleurs (minstrels) Topics: courtly love, Crusades, dancing, spinning songs Secular songs have sense of rhythm Instrumental dances

Adam de la Halle (1237-1286) The most famous troubadour ever Wrote the first ever musical theater piece Le Jeu de Robin et Marion Inventor of the Motet Motet - a piece of music where two or more different verses are fit together simultaneously, without regard to harmony

Estampie (13th Century) Medieval dance music Strong beat (for dancing) Usually in triple meter and fast beat Notated as chant: only a single melody line Performers probably improvised accompaniment Listening example

Medieval Instruments Instruments in early secular music were used to accompany songs. Musicians usually improvised the simple accompaniments. While the accompaniments were melodically simple, they were rhythmically lively. Let’s take a look at the many different instruments used in these accompaniments…

Medieval instruments (partial list) Harp KrumHorn Lute Cornett Psaltery (plucked string instrument) Sackbut (early trombone) Serpent Shawm (early double reed woodwind) Hurdy- Gurdy Drum Fiddle Rebec (bowed string instrument) Pipe (wind instrument) or Recorder Viol

Harp

Krumhorn

Lute

Muted Cornett

Psaltery

Sacbut

Serpent

Shawm

Hurdy-Gurdy

Drum or Tambor

Recorder

Viol

Ch. 4: The Development of Polyphony: Organum Between 700-900 a 2nd line added to chant Additional part initially improvised, not written Paralleled chant line at a different pitch 900-1200 added line grew more independent Contrary motion, then separate melodic curve c. 1100 note-against-note motion abandoned 2 lines w/ individual rhythmic and melodic content New part, in top voice, moved faster than the chant line

There were two schools of music during the Middle Ages Ars Antiqua - 1100-1300 & Ars Nova - 1300 - 1450

Ars Antiqua began in Paris at the Cathedral de Notre Dame

Representative Ars Antiqua Composers Leonin (1163-1190) Perotin (early 13th century) Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Anonymous (?)

What is Ars Antiqua? Literally means “old art” Stemmed directly from Gregorian Chant This style of music can be characterized as adding hollow sounding harmonies(perfect 4ths & 5ths) to existing chants. This type of music is called organum. Originally, one voice would be added above the existing chant. The chant would be sung very slowly - it was called the cantus firmus.

School of Notre Dame Paris: Intellectual and artistic capital in Europe (1150) Leonin and Perotin Choirmasters First known composers They developed the Measured Rhythm Measured Rhythm New rhythmic notation Chant notation had only indicated pitch, not rhythm Medieval thought was that interval of 3rd dissonant Modern chords built of 3rds, considered consonant Cantus Firmus Chant used for polyphony

Meanwhile, in Germany… Hildegard von Bingen, who herself was a nun with reported mystical powers, began composing music different from the Notre Dame school. Von Bingen wrote music that sounded wildly different than plainchant, which some attributed to her lack of musical training. Her melodies, even today, seem contemporary.

Ch. 5: Fourteenth-Century Music: The “New Art” In Italy and France The new type of music was called Ars nova as opposed to Ars Antiqua (old art of the 1100-1300) Composers wrote music not based on chant Borrowed secular melodies to put in sacred music New music notation system had developed New system allowed for better rhythmic notation Beats could be subdivided into 2 as well as 3

Representative Ars Nova Composers Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) Francesco Landini (1325-1397) Anonymous (?)

Guillaume de Machaut Mid- to late 14th Century composer (1300-1377) He was a priest and a famous poet Master of counterpoint Though a priest, spent most of life working at court Wrote both sacred and secular music Mostly love songs Created the first Ordinary for the Catholic Mass Best known for his “Notre Dame Mass”

Mass Ordinary Contains texts that remain the same throughout the year 5 parts: Kyrie (Greek text) Gloria Credo Latin Text Sanctus Agnus Dei

Francesco Landini Leading Italian composer Blind , organist and poet Songs about nature, love, politics, morality Ballata Italian poetic and musical form Example: “Ecco La Primavera”

Examples of Ars Nova Music Music from this period was the first to add stems to the nuemes, thereby creating our modern system of notation.

Listening Agnus Dei from Notre Dame Mass by Guillaume de Machaut 14th Century, part of mass ordinary Polyphonic—4 voices (parts) Ternary form: A B A (form results from the text) Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem